Month: January 2024

FLORENCE, Italy: Inter Milan reclaimed the top spot in Serie A when they beat fifth-placed Fiorentina 1-0 early this morning thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s early header.

Inter, who were crowned champions of the Italian Super Cup for the third consecutive year on Monday, returned to the top of the league table with 54 points, one point ahead of second-placed Juventus with a game in hand.

Juve squandered a chance to extend their lead over Inter when they were forced to a 1-1 draw by lowly Empoli yesterday after playing most of the match with 10 men.

“This team did well in the first half and that’s where we should finish, maybe score another goal,” coach Simone Inzaghi told reporters.

“Even in the first half I wasn’t satisfied with 1-0. Fiorentina… often makes you languish, it’s an important win but not decisive anymore.”

Fiorentina thought they had taken the lead when striker M’Bala Nzola tricked visiting goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 11th minute but the Angolan striker was ruled offside.

Martinez put Inter ahead three minutes later, heading in a free kick from a difficult angle.

Inter, who were without midfielders with the help of Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella, allowed Fiorentina to have control of the ball but the hosts wasted many chances.

The Viola, who are in fifth place with 34 points and have played less than one game, will next visit the 14th place team, Lecce this Friday.

Inter hosts a visit from Juventus on February 4.

“A match between two teams that are doing well at the moment. We will try to prepare as well as possible,” said Inzaghi about the meeting with Juve.

LONDON: Liverpool are currently at the top of the English Premier League and the latest statistics prove why Jurgen Klopp’s squad deserves to be there.

Attacking speed has been the mainstay of Liverpool’s victories this season – with 1.96 meters per second (m/s) recorded to be the fastest team in attack.

In second place, Everton and West Ham recorded 1.94m/s, while Nottingham Forest was third at 1.93m/s.

Luton Town, who are 18th in the league, are fourth at 1.92m/s, followed by Manchester United (1.89m/s) and Bournemouth (1.87m/s).

Crystal Palace and Sheffield United are tied at 1.80m/s while Brentford record 1.79m/s.

Aston Villa averaged 1.74m/s, while Tottenham Hotspur – who were plagued by injuries – at 1.72m/s.

Fulham (1.69m/s), Newcastle United (1.68m/s), Chelsea (1.67m/s) and Wolverhampton Wanderers are below Spurs while Brighton and Hove Albion at the top of group three is dropped at 1.59m/s.

Arsenal and Manchester are in the last three groups with records of 1.54m/s and 1.26m/s. Burnley are in the middle of the pack of championship contenders at 1.45m/s.

LIVERPOOL, England: Mohamed Salah’s second-half brace made up for an earlier penalty miss as Liverpool started the new year three points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-2 win over Newcastle United at Anfield in torrential rain.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, who started the day tied on points with Aston Villa, now have 45 points from 20 games.

Villa got 42 points while Manchester City, who played one game less, is third with 40 points. Newcastle are also in ninth place with 29 points.

Liverpool dominated the match and Salah, who fired a penalty past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the first half, finally broke the deadlock in the 49th minute when Darwin Nunez crossed for the Egyptian to finish from close range.

Alexander Isak grabbed Newcastle’s second try of the game in the 54th minute when he met Anthony Gordon’s beautiful pass and fired beyond Alisson’s reach.

However, Curtis Jones put the hosts back in front in the 74th minute with a simple header after receiving a cross from Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo added a goal four minutes later.

Sven Botman pulled one back for Newcastle in the 81st minute before Salah, playing his final game before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations, converted a penalty after Jota was fouled to seal victory in the 86th minute.

Celtic was founded in 1887 at a meeting in St. Mary’s Church hall in the Calton district of Glasgow. The club played its first match, against Rangers, the following year, winning 5–2. Celtic moved to its longtime home, Celtic Park (also known as Parkhead), in 1892.

Renovated in 1995, the stadium now accommodates more than 60,000 spectators. Celtic began playing in white shirts with green collars, and the club’s famous uniform of a green-and-white striped shirt with white shorts debuted in 1903.

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Celtic won its first league championship in the 1892–93 season and has won 50 in total. The club has also won the Scottish League Cup 16 times and the Scottish Cup 37 times.

Celtic went through a lean run of 11 seasons without a league championship before the arrival of Jock Stein as manager in 1965, but the team went on to win nine Scottish league championships in a row from 1965–66 to 1973–74.

The club was founded in 1872 and plays in white shorts and blue shirts (though blue-and-white striped shirts were worn in the early 1880s), which accounts for its nickname “the Light Blues.”

For the first 25 years of the club’s existence, Rangers played in a variety of locations around Glasgow before funds were raised to build Ibrox Stadium, which opened in 1899.

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Between 1899 and 1954 the club was managed by just two men, William Wilton and Bill Struth. Under Struth, who led the team for 34 seasons, Rangers won 18 league championships as well as 10 Scottish Cups.

Rangers’ 54 total Scottish league championships—including one shared with Dumbarton FC in 1891—is more than any other team. The club has also won the Scottish Cup 33 times overall.

Despite great success domestically, the club has done less well abroad, with the 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup title its only notable international championship.